Etain winked at Bethy who was blushing furiously. "She was so tiny I couldn't believe anything that small could be real. The first time I saw her fall and break her arm, I wanted to destroy the innocent item that broke it."
Micah laughed. "It was the floor."
Etain nodded. "Exactly. I remembered at the last moment that we needed the floor."
Grant rubbed a hand over his mouth, smiling. "I did not think she knew how to walk. Tarak or Kuruk carried her everywhere."
Tarak shrugged. "It was easier on our nerves."
Magnus took another sip of wine. "After the meeting today, I had my secretary send out the area-wide paranormal newsletter. A small town in Texas contacted me. They were already in the process of packing up when they heard we were opening the city. They have arrived in Albuquerque and are staying the night at our estate there. They should be arriving tomorrow morning."
"Maybe there will be some little ones coming to stay with us from that group," Caspian suggested.
"Hmmm, cowboys," Meryn said dreamily.
Aiden growled at her before lifting her hand up to his lips for a kiss.
Meryn shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, y'all in your spiffy uniforms are great, but there's something about a man in a tight pair of jeans and cowboy boots." She turned to Bethy. "Do you think they'll be in cowboy boots?"
Bethy grinned. "We can live in hope."
Gavriel leaned down and nipped her neck, causing her to giggle.
Meryn tapped her lips with her finger. "We'll need a new ranking system."
Aiden shook his head. "Meryn," he growled her name.
Meryn ignored her mate. "I'll have to take pictures and add them to my database so my minion and Anne can vote. Hot damn! Cowboys! Wait until I tell Amelia, I bet she'll want to vote then."
Caspian winked at his mate. "Count me in."
Broderick kissed Caspian's neck. "You can look, but don't touch."
Caspian blew air kisses to his mate. "Of course, darlin'," he said in a perfect Texas drawl.
One human woman.
Adriel was beginning to think that six units would not be enough to handle both her and Bethy's notoriously bad luck.
*****
The next morning
Eva Mae Miller ambled next to Josie McLauren as they made their way to the edge of the canyon where the entrance to Noctem Falls was hidden within the very rock. The two of them were the stragglers of the large wolf pack that was walking from the temporary fae portal toward the city. The pack had chosen to stay at the Noctem Falls estate instead of going through at night. It was now early morning, and from the growls around her, most of the pack hadn't had a chance to grab coffee.
The fae that had opened the portal had taken one look at their group and decided a temporary portal a couple miles from the city was safer than using the traditional one so close to the edge. It meant they had to walk, but this way, no one was accidentally falling over.
"I'm so sorry you have to walk with me Eva," the young pregnant woman huffed.
Eva wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Don't you worry about me one bit. In fact, I like this slower pace, it's really relaxing."
Josie ducked her face, smiling. "And you get to avoid Stefan back here."
Eva heaved an exasperated sigh. "That's a perk, too." Stefan Bolivar was the current pack Alpha, her best friend, and pain in her ass all in one.
After losing her family to human hunters in eastern Russia, she'd decided to leave the country. She was intrigued by the stories she heard about the Wild West in America, and before she knew it, she had paid for passage and begun her journey west.
Stefan had only been one hundred and fifty years old in eighteen-fifty, when she finally ended up in Wolftown, Texas, a small town run by a pack of Mexican Gray wolves. When she approached the pack alphas, Demetrio and Adora Bolivar, she had been warmly welcomed despite being a tiger.
She plunked down her life savings and opened up a saloon. She called it the Gold Penny, and she made sure it was a safe place for the locals to grab a drink. Over the years, Wolftown morphed from a dusty desert town into a thriving tourist attraction.
The pack had modernized all the buildings but kept them looking exactly as they had when the town was founded. The townspeople wore the same style clothing they wore over a hundred years ago, giving the town an authentic feel. Plus, it made it easy to know who was a shifter and who was a visiting human.
Eva understood why the pack decided to head to Noctem Falls for protection, but it had been hard to put up a closed sign in her bar. She missed her home already.
"We'll be back before you know it." Josie patted her arm.
"Am I that transparent?"
"I think we're all feeling the same way. If it weren't for all the missing families in the area, I don't think Stefan would have agreed to move us to Noctem Falls, even temporarily. You know how we feel about vampires." Josie shuddered.
Eva knew that the decision to move the pack to Noctem Falls had been a hard one for Stefan. He had spent nearly two days perched on one of her bar stools, spinning a half empty beer bottle in his hands. There was bad blood between the local vampires and wolf packs, and Eva really wasn't looking forward to the tension.
"Speak of the devil." Josie nodded ahead of them.
Stefan was walking back to them, he was frowning, and his entire body was tense. This wasn't a good sign. "Stefan, what's up?"
He walked up and wrapped a casual arm around her waist. She thought he was just flirting again when he began to lean in. She was about to grind her boot into his foot when he whispered in her ear. "We're being followed. Can't see 'em, but something doesn't feel right."
Eva felt a chill race down her spine. She slowly began to look around. Damn. He was right. To her left, she watched as the wind kicked up a cloud of dust that separated and blew around a large object.
She turned to Stefan.
"I saw," he whispered harshly. "When I give the signal, I need the two of you to run as fast as you can toward the ledge." His eyes met her, and she nodded. She would protect Josie so he could concentrate on the rest of the pack. "Father has already sent an emergency message to the head bloodsucker; they are sending help." With a quick grin, he leaned in, licked her cheek, and dashed off before she could smack him.
Seconds later, two of the pack's betas jogged back to flank them on either side. Eva should have known that Stefan wasn't taking any chance with a pregnant female. She grinned wickedly at Elias Santiago and Jorge Diaz. "Looks like we're about to have some fun."
Elias's answering grin was reassuring. "Can I put my arm around you too, Eva?" he teased.
"Only if you want Stefan to rip your arm out of its socket. You know how protective he is of Eva," Jorge warned. Jorge, however, didn't wait for permission; he wrapped a muscled arm around Josie's round belly. It was no secret in the pack that he was Josie's mate. Unfortunately, Josie had already been seeing someone else when they met. The past few months had been complicated for everyone. Ultimately, Josie's lover had left town, abandoning her and their unborn child. Josie's heart had been broken, but Jorge had been there every step of the way, picking up the pieces and handing them back to her lovingly.
Under her hand, Eva felt Josie tense. A long howl at the front of the pack had everyone running as fast as they could. After a few hundred feet, Jorge simply picked Josie up and ran. Eva didn't know what had her turning to her right, but she felt movement seconds before she placed her body between Jorge's and the attacker.
Eva was lifted up and thrown to one side. Growling, she extended her claws, partially shifting her hands. She extended her gait, running to catch up to the pack. As she was running, she saw Elias was on the ground, pinned by an unseen enemy. Without thinking, she flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around the mass over Elias, and crashed into the ground with them. Blindly, she swiped left and right. She felt with satisfaction her claws dig into a soft material seconds before warm blood dripped down off her hands.
&n
bsp; "Gotcha, you son of a bitch," she growled.
"Eva, hurry!" Elias was up and heading toward the pack.
Eva froze as she sensed movement all around her. She was surrounded.
"Come on boys, I showed you mine," she held up her claws. "Now show me yours," she purred.
One moment she was carefully watching her surroundings, the next she was flat on her back and seeing stars. As darkness edged into her vision, she heard the sounds of commands being yelled.
"About fucking time," she grunted before passing out.
*****
Eva woke to a pounding headache, but truth be told, she was happy to be waking up at all. Things hadn't looked too good when her eyes had shut. With great effort, she opened one eye, then another, and looked around. The first thing she saw was a pair of green eyes staring at her.
"Hello," she said in greeting.
"Yo."
The woman with the spiky brown hair continued to stare at her.
"Can I help you?" Eva asked.
"Nope, I'm good." Again, her unblinking green peepers locked in on her.
"Why are you staring at me?" Eva finally asked.
"The witch from the Kappa Unit was directing volunteers; he took one look at you and said you were my person to watch over."
Probably because you're nutty, and I'm not that injured.
"Probably because he knew I couldn't fuck you up," the woman admitted out loud.
Eva grinned. At least she wasn't boring. "I'm Eva Mae Miller."
"Seriously? Did that name come with a pair of Daisy Dukes?"
Eva's mouth dropped before she burst out laughing. "You got a mouth on you, don'cha?"
"Yup! I'm Meryn McKenzie, pleased to meet ya." Meryn's eyes danced with mirth.
Eva groaned as she sat up. Small hands tried to push her back down. "Meryn, I'm okay, really. I just need to stand up and stretch."
Meryn's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. "Okay, but don't hurt yourself, because I'm not a healer so you'd probably die or something."
Eva swung her legs over the side of her cot and stood up. Meryn did the same and now Eva was the one staring. "Where's the rest of you?"
Meryn crossed her arms. "Somewhere between 'fuck' and 'you', I think."
Eva chuckled. "I like you."
Meryn stuck her tongue out at her. "I think I like you, too. I'm glad you didn't get eviscerated. Damn, you're tall though; you're like, what, six feet?"
"Nah, only five-eleven and three quarters."
"That last quarter makes all the difference in the world, huh?"
"You better believe it." Eva looked around. They were in a large open cavern. "Where are we anyway?" She felt like someone was watching them. She was a cat; she knew what it was like to stalk her prey. At this moment, she felt like the prey.
Meryn rubbed up and down her arms in a nervous gesture. "This is called the Grand Hall. Everyone is being brought in from over there; that's the opening called the Ledge." Meryn pointed to the cavern's entrance. Men were rushing people through the doors and into the hall. "They have all the units out there guarding the rest of your pack until the witches can lower them down and get them inside. My squire went out to help since he can evidently lift and lower whole platforms, sneaky bastard," she grumbled.
Eva looked around, and all she saw were her fellow townspeople. Scattered amongst them were unit warriors with glowing hands healing the injured. "Where are all the vampires?"
Meryn snorted. "They had to be sent back down. There was so much blood; they were getting kinda out of control. Only Magnus and a handful of the older ones were able to keep their composure. Though in their defense, there's a lot of blood. If I had that much coffee around me, I'd probably lose my shit, too."
Eva watched as a tall, gorgeous vampire with blood red eyes and lowered fangs moved closer. "Ah, Meryn? You did say all the affected vampires went below right?"
"Yeah, why?"
Eva pointed to the man bearing down on them. She was about to push Meryn behind her when the small woman put her hands on her hips and drew back her foot. When the man was standing in front of them, she let her foot fly, kicking him in the shins. Eva blinked. That was not what she would have done to a bloodthirsty vampire attacking them, but it seemed to work. The man's red eyes faded to a mystical silvery gray color and a frown appeared on his face.
"Meryn, that does hurt, you know?"
"It was supposed to. Get your fang boner under control; you're freaking out my person."
The man stared down at Meryn with unblinking eyes. "Did you just say fang boner?"
"Yeah. Really, Adriel, I thought you had more control than that, being a unit leader and all."
Adriel rubbed between his eyebrows. "Meryn, my fangs are out because she is my mate."
"Oh. Well, shit. Then chomp away, I guess." Meryn scuffed her shoe on the floor, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Eva couldn't seem to take her eyes off the warrior in front of her. She had heard of the mating heat, but never in a thousand years would she have thought that it would affect her like this. Her hands actually ached to touch him. He was several inches taller than she was, for which she was grateful. He wore his long, dark wavy hair back in a ponytail, and there was a hint of a five o'clock shadow appearing along his square jaw. He exuded strength and power and her tiger was lapping it up.
He frowned down at Meryn. "I do not chomp." He turned to Eva and straightened his tie before smoothing down his shirt. He bowed, taking her hand. He kissed it lightly then rose to his full height. "My name is Adriel Aristaios. I am the unit leader in charge of the unit warriors here in Noctem Falls, and I am your mate." He allowed her hand to fall back to her side.
Eva swallowed hard; her stomach seemed to have grown wings and was currently fluttering around her midsection. "My name is Eva Mae Miller. I'm the only tiger shifter in a town of wolves. I own a bar called the Gold Penny, and I am your mate."
Meryn elbowed Adriel. "Bet you're appreciating cowboy boots now," she teased.
Adriel looked down at Eva's boots and then back up to her face. He swallowed. "They are quite fetching."
"He totally wants to fuck you in those, just those," Meryn interpreted.
Adriel looked around the room. "Where is your mate?"
Meryn rolled her eyes. "He can't control me either."
"Are you always this cranky?" Eva asked, scoping out their surroundings.
"Sort of. I came up because everyone was jumping up and running to help when the call came in, and I would have seemed like an asshole if I stayed down in the dining room eating pudding and playing on my laptop. But then Aiden and Gavriel disappeared to help the units." She stopped and pointed to a pretty blonde woman in the middle of the room. "Beth, my adopted sister, is directing people like an air traffic controller, and then Ryuu abandons me." Eva was shocked to see the tiny woman rubbing at her eyes angrily.
"Hey kiddo, it'll be okay." Eva ran a hand over Meryn's hair.
Meryn scowled up at her. "I don't like it here!" Meryn clutched at her chest.
Now, Eva really was concerned. This didn't look like a normal reaction to the confusion around them. She looked around frantically, trying to find anyone who knew the tiny human.
She looked at her mate; he wore an equally concerned look. "I take it this isn't normal behavior for her?"
Adriel pursed his lips. "I do not believe so. She is a bit different, but she looks to be in pain, and that is not acceptable."
"Denka, I am here." A tall Japanese man said, walking up to them quickly, reaching for Meryn's wrist.
Within moments, Meryn's erratic breathing had slowed, and she looked calmer.
"Is she okay?" Eva asked.
"She will be once I get her back to Level One," he responded.
"I'm fine. I have to watch after Eva; she's my assigned person," Meryn protested.
Eva met the man's eyes and they both seemed to come to an unspoken agreement.
"How about you show me Level
One? We can eat some of that pudding you were talking about," Eva suggested.
"You're being too nice. I hate getting like this." Meryn scrubbed at her face with her sleeve.
"What's wrong? Or is it something you don't like to talk about?" Eva asked.
Meryn shrugged. "Kendrick thinks I'm part witch, but I didn't get any cool powers like fireballs or flying, just stupid emotions."
"You're an empath," Eva said, understanding her dilemma. She looked around the room. They were surrounded by pain, confusion, and fear. "We need to get you back to this other level."
"I agree. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sei Ryuu; I am Meryn's squire. You can call me Ryuu, it would be an honor to escort you both back down to Level One where my denka can rest." Ryuu's eyes darted to Meryn's midsection.
"Oh my Gods, you're pregnant." Eva exclaimed.
"Yeah." Meryn's eyes were starting to go blank.
Eva turned to her mate. "Point me in the right direction, I'll get us there."
Adriel pointed to the opposite end of the hall. "The transport tunnel is located along the far wall. Under normal circumstances, I would not leave your side, however," he indicated to the crowd around them.
"You go take care of my people, and I'll be with Meryn on Level One. I'll be waiting," she promised.
His eyes darkened. He hesitated for a moment, she could see in his eyes the desire to stay with her, but his sense of duty won out. "I will come for you."
"Find Stefan or Demetrio Bolivar. Stefan is the current Alpha, Demetrio is the previous Alpha, either will be able to tell you if anyone is missing and help organize the people."
"My thanks." He lifted her hand for one last kiss then headed toward the Ledge opening to assist with the townspeople.
Eva grabbed Meryn's arm and began to push her way through the chaotic crowd. The further they got away from the mob, the better Meryn seemed to get. By the time they were at the tunnel, Meryn's green eyes were focused and alert.
"Meryn, wait!" They turned to see a man running toward them.
"Hey Micah. I thought you were helping to heal people?" Meryn questioned.